Spool or reel



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. OUFF, OF SOUTH'BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GORDON MOKAY AND JAMES W. BROOKS, TRUSTEES, BOTH OF (1AM- BRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPOOL OR REEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,188, dated May 31, 1881. Application filed January 28, 1881. (Model) To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. CUFF, of South Braintrec, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, havein vented an Improvement 5 in Spool or 'Reel, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to a spool or reel to be used chiefly in machines for uniting together the soles and uppers of boots and shoes.

The object of my inven tion is the production of a spool or reel with which the end of a screw or other wire may be quickly connected and securely held, and from which the end of the wire may readily escape when the inner end of the coil of wire is reached, and that without injury to the machine.

Figure 1 represents avertical central section of a spool or reel embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a'partial horizontal central section of the reel, looking upward in Fig. 1, the center part of the reel being partially broken out to show themeans for holding the end of the wire. Fig. 3 is a detail of one end of a part of the spool, to show the depressed surface and slot into which the end of the sole-fastenin g material or wire is inserted.

The spool or reel is composed of two main parts, a a b I), put together as in Fig. 2, and

held together by means of the nut c, which is screwed upon the hub part b. The central part of the hub b is provided with two bearings, d 0, having smooth faces. Oneof the said bearings is so fitted into the hub that it 3 5 may move a little therein; but, aside from this sliding movement, the said hubs rotate with the spool parts a. b. Between the said bearings is a spiral spring, g. The spool, when placed on the stud or axle about which it is to turn, is clamped between two arms, which will bear on the flat faces of the bearings e d and cause the spring 9 to be more or less compressed, so that the spool thus becomes held frictionally, to prevent it from moving so far I 5 as to slacken the fastening material between the spool and usual grappling-rollers, the spool thus moving only for the distance over which it is moved positively.

Theouter portion, a, of the part a of the spool, over which the coil of sole-fastening material is passed when the parts a b are separated, is near one end slotted through at 2 toward the center of the part a, and then the end of a is cut or grooved to form the inclined surface 3, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) which starts at the said slot and rises gradually to the periphcry of the part a. The slot and groove form a space to receive the end of the fastening material or wire h, as in Fig. 1, and permit it to wind or extend therefrom to the periphery of the part a without a sharp bend and without disturbing the coil of wire or material superimposed on the coil, the end of which is so placed in the slot 2.

In order to get a thin, strong edge to bear against the material or wire it and permit it to yield somewhat to variations in diameter of the material or wire, I have added to the interior of the part a a thin sheet-metal or sheet-steel holder, 1, shown as a spring held in place by a screw, m. The part a is provided with a pin, a to enter a hole in the lug b of part b. The end of the fastening material or wire h, extended through the slot 2, as shown in Fig. 1, will be engaged by the holder 1, on the end of which it bears, and will from that point follow the inclined surface of the rest 3 until itreaches the circular periphery of the part a, and, so acted upon, the end of the material It will be held with sufficient firmness to prevent the wire slipping or turning about the part a,- but when the coil of wire is exhausted its inner end, then in the slot 2 and against the holder 1, will readily draw out radially from the reel, and not strain or injure the usual mechanism of the nailing-machine, which feeds forward the material h.

In practice it is now common to bend or positively fasten the inner end of the material to the spool or reel, and the operator has to keep close watch and stop the machine before the inner end of the coil of the material is exhausted.

The holderl might be omitted, yet not preferably so, for the cast-metal part of the hub 5 or cannot be cut as thin as is desirable to act properly on the material or wire and the usual notches or indentations therein.

In Fig. 1 I have shown one coil of wire superimposed on the first coil, the end of which is 100 heldin the slot.. The surface of?) is depressed below the level of the periphery of the part a.

I claim- 1. The spool or reel composed of the connected parts b b and a a, the latter being provided with the slot and inclined surface 3 to receive and sustain the end of the material la, substantially as described.

2. lhe spool or reel composed of the connected parts b b and a a, the latter provided with the slot and depressed or inclined surface 3, on which the material rests, combined with the independent holder or spring to act on one side of the wire, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. CUFF.

Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, ARTHUR REYNOLDS. 

